Artist Blog – Art Stories, News & Updates2024-07-23T15:50:22+00:00
pop art paintings by doug kemp from the 2000s
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Doug Kemp's Artist Blog

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Doug Kemp Gallery Artist Blog. Self-perspective and No-nonsense views of art, great works by artist I admire and the ones I loath. Sign up for our newsletter for updates, discount codes and more.

ARTIST NEWS

Artist Blog News & Updates

Artist News & Updates

Doug Kemp Gallery Artist Blog. Self-perspective and No-nonsense views of the art world news in general.

pop art paintings by doug kemp from the 2000s

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Contancourious views, opinions and general newsworthy information from the art world by the artist Doug Kemp and his minions Norman & Luke.

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  • Art Stories – Whats and whys behind the paintings.

  • Discount vouchers notification for artist prints.

  • Unbiased views from an 84 yr old artist.

Surprise Visit

A woman falls headfirst toward the ground, her handbag still clutched in her hand as hair and strap trail behind her in mid-air. Two startled onlookers react to the sudden drama, one sending his ice cream flying. With a lurking paparazzo ready to capture the moment, Doug turns a slapstick accident into a surreal scene of tension and theatre.

The Sax Man Plays

The Sax Man Plays presents a lively collage of dancers and a passionate saxophonist set within bold geometric panels. Inspired by classic film imagery, the scene captures the rhythm and energy of jazz culture, where music, movement and nightlife merge into a vibrant visual performance.

Stone Bride

Stone Bride centres on a lifelike sculpture of a woman carved in cold blue-green stone, poised between human presence and immovable object. As a man passes by seemingly unaware, the scene suggests emotional distance and quiet resignation. The vivid yellow backdrop heightens the contrast, reinforcing the sense of warmth surrounding a relationship that has become frozen.

Weekend Getaway v3

Weekend Getaway v.3 shows two figures rushing in opposite directions through a crowded city scene. The woman’s vivid red hair and flowing clothes capture the urgency of movement, while the man in a blue suit moves away with equal determination. Bold colour and geometric structure turn the chaos of urban life into a carefully balanced design.

Weekend Getaway v2

Weekend Getaway v.2 captures the aftermath of a violent shootout. As the man falls backwards, apparently shot, his accomplice turns to fire while fleeing the scene. Bold colours, exaggerated proportions and lightning-like streaks transform the gunfight into a theatrical moment where violence unfolds like a staged drama.

Weekend Getaway v1

Weekend Getaway v.1 captures a chaotic moment of motion as a gunman twists mid-leap while a blonde accomplice is swept into the action beside him. Their bodies lock into a circular composition, their parallel gun arms reinforcing the tension. Bold check patterns, geometric shadows and a starburst muzzle flash transform the gunfight into a stylised design of motion and danger.

Paradise in 1968 Doug Kemp, posing at Castle Godwyn

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”

“DITTO…”

Doug Kemp

Doug Kemp, Castle Godwyn, Paradise in 1968

Weekend Getaway v1

Weekend Getaway v.1 captures a chaotic moment of motion as a gunman twists mid-leap while a blonde accomplice is swept into the action beside him. Their bodies lock into a circular composition, their parallel gun arms reinforcing the tension. Bold check patterns, geometric shadows and a starburst muzzle flash transform the gunfight into a stylised design of motion and danger.

The Puzzle

The Puzzle presents a quiet domestic scene where a man becomes absorbed in arranging geometric pieces that hover or scatter across the surface. Behind him, an elegantly dressed woman waits to go out, creating a subtle tension between obsession and everyday life. The circular composition frames the moment like a private scene glimpsed through a peephole.

Last Gangter

Last Gangster captures the instant of a man collapsing after being shot, caught between the real world and an abstract lattice suggesting death or transformation. A second figure approaches from the shadows, hinting at the cyclical nature of violence and succession.

Palais V2

The Palais v.2 captures the lively spirit of mid-century dance halls. A sharply dressed man dances energetically opposite a silhouetted woman, their poses creating balance within the composition. A stylised staircase of coloured bands, musical notes and dancing shoes suggests movement and music, while vintage cars and embracing couples hint at the romance and ritual of a night out.

The Palais v1

The Palais captures the lively atmosphere of mid-20th century dance halls. Two women dance energetically at the centre of the composition, one spinning so quickly her skirt lifts in the motion.

Detectives V1

A striking red-haired woman in a red suit stands apart from the action, framed within her own panel and set against a reflective silver-grey background. She watches the stockinged legs of what appears to be a murder victim, while two detectives examine the chaotic scene nearby. Venetian-blind imagery, flashes of red and layered panels combine to evoke the tension and stylised drama of mid-20th century pulp detective fiction.

Detectives V2

Detectives v.2 presents a scene inspired by the visual language of 1940s and 1950s pulp fiction and film noir. Divided into bold narrative panels, the composition centres on a man holding a gun, framed against a stylised cityscape reminiscent of Venetian blinds. A woman in an elegant gown stands apart from the action, her role left deliberately unclear, adding tension and intrigue to the scene.

Domestic Animals V2

This scene appears to continue the story begun in Domestic Animals v.1, revisiting the same couple at a later moment in their lives. The man reads his newspaper again, now more distant, while the woman looks on, separated both physically and emotionally. Light from the window falls across the room, leaving her mostly in shadow, suggesting a quiet shift in the relationship and the passage of time.

The Sculpture Painting

A stylised sculpture dominates the scene, its elongated face carved into stark planes of light and shade. While the figure appears cold and impassive, a distressed woman nearby suggests that the sculpture may be more than a silent object. The tension between the rigid form and the human emotion around it creates an unsettling atmosphere.

One more Tutor Session

A hands-on creative session with artist Doug Kemp, exploring his distinctive approach to printmaking, colour, and visual storytelling. The workshop supported Abigail from Ipswich School as part of her GCSE art studies, providing insight into Doug’s creative process, influences, and practical working methods.

Artist Friends & Features

Doug Kemp’s artwork has been featured by magazines, blogs, galleries, and arts organisations. This page highlights friends and platforms that have profiled, exhibited, or supported his Pop Art over the years.

Small Town Dramas 2020s

The 2020s Small Town Drama Series by Popartdoug brings to life six decades of ideas from Doug’s sketchbooks, portraying the hidden stories, emotional tensions, and everyday humour of small-town life through vivid colours, bold outlines, and stylised characters.

Ice

A moment of elegance undone by gravity, where glamour, humour, and anticipation are frozen in a single slip on the ice.

Possibilities

A reflective composition where distance, longing, and stubbornness turn possibility into quiet melancholy.

Love at First Sight

A playful moment where romance arrives suddenly, awkwardly, and with far more confidence than caution.

Look at That Baby Go!

A bright and exaggerated scene where velocity, nostalgia, and humour collide in retro 50s comic book pop art.

Viewing Domestic Bliss

A nostalgic domestic scene where routine, observation, and quiet dissatisfaction sit just beneath the polished surface.

The Valentine

A vivid romantic tableau where gestures of love balance delicately between hope and collapse.

Twins

Twins, a striking silkscreen print where symmetry and small details reveal the tension between conformity and self-expression.

Snake Charming Sisters

A vivid and stylised image where seduction is not a weakness, but a form of control and performance.

The Samurai

An early 1990s 40 x 50 inch painting on paper where fashion, confidence, and identity turn modern women into contemporary warriors. The Samurai

American Tourist

A vivid meeting of Pop Art and Cubism, where one style of seeing quietly observes another.

The Fitting

A polished surface hides something colder beneath, where beauty, control, and compliance become disturbingly mechanical.

Observing the Alien v1

A surreal confrontation where only one witness sees the truth, and everyone else mistakes fear for madness.

The Quest

A quiet act of watching becomes a larger mystery, where truth remains hidden behind pattern and perspective.

The Beach

A witty Pop Art tableau where swimsuits, stagecraft, and seaside glamour reveal their own artificial charm.

Table Dancing

A charged moment of movement and restraint, where glamour, morality, and performance share the same stage.

Forbidden Fruit

A vivid Pop Art fable where paradise survives, and the serpent departs with more frustration than triumph in 'Forbidden Fruit'

Dream On

A seemingly ordinary city walk becomes a quiet drama of distraction, frustration, and unspoken commentary.

Cutting the Salami

An ordinary kitchen moment edged with humour and menace, where domestic routine hints at something sharper beneath.

Chevy Dancing

A bold, stylised scene where rhythm, fashion, and Americana combine in a moment of pure visual energy.

Back Seat

A stylised noir scene where stillness holds tension and every detail suggests something more.

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